The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.
Traditionally, firefighters pumped pressurized water to extinguish fires.
In recent times, compressed air foam system (CAFS) generators have been used to generate foam to extinguish fires. Advantageously, the foam extinguishes more fire than water per unit volume, and therefore results in more infrequent filling of firefighting storage tanks.
A known foam generator includes a receptacle for receiving flowing water, and an air supply for supplying pressurized air into the water. The air supply includes a pair of plates extending across the receptacle. An upstream plate defines water inlets, and a downstream plate defines water outlets and air outlets. Water conduits extend between corresponding water inlets and outlets in respective plates, and transport water in a laminar manner between the plates. The air supply provides pressurized air between the plates. The pressurized air exits through the air outlets and is introduced into the laminar water exiting the plates to create foam. The known foam generator is complex to manufacture requiring advanced machining of parts.
The embodiments described herein provide an improved firefighting foam generator.